The past week, a number of Liverpool players have been off on their international duties. The break represents a chance for players to proudly represent their country in various 2016 European Championship Qualifiers, but with Joe Allen, Daniel Sturridge and Emre Can picked up injuries last month internationally, so it's become somewhat of a hindrance. Did the Reds suffer any more setbacks this time around, and how did the club's representatives get on their two fixtures?
Croatia:
It was bad news for Dejan Lovren. The central defender was due to face dates Bulgaria in Sofia and then host Azerbaijan on Friday and then Monday, but instead has given Brendan Rodgers another headache after sustaining an injury. He was forced to withdraw from Croatia's squad with an abdominal injury that he picked up during training, and returned to Melwood to face further assessment. The Croatian Football Federation's website said: 'During training on Wednesday, Lovren felt pain in the abdominal wall. Igor Boric (a specialist) at St Catherine (Hospital) showed there was a tear and he will not be ready for performances in Sofia and Osijek.' It's suspected Lovren will be out for up to two weeks, meaning he may be back for the club's huge Champions League clash at home to Real Madrid.
England:
Jordan Henderson, Adam Lallana, Raheem Sterling and Rickie Lambert were all called up for Roy Hodgson's 23-man squad as they faced two fixtures in four days against San Marino and Estonia, with Daniel Sturridge having been forced to miss out due to an injury sustained during the last break and Glen Johnson also still out. Lambert was unused substitute for the first game, and was almost unused again in Estonia. He was ready to come on as Wayne Rooney stepped up to a costless-kick, and the resulting goal meant the England captain stayed on the pitch after Lambert looked likely to replace him. Though, Welbeck rolled his ankle and was replaced by the Liverpool no.9 on the 78th minute, but couldn't really do much other than help shore out the three points. Sterling too enjoyed some rest. He was taken off after just half-time against San Marino, with his tiredness telling. He was used behind the front two when the space was out on the flanks, and did manage a couple of shots. One of which winning the corner for England’s opening goal but overall he struggled to impose himself and found himself replaced by teammate Lallana at the break. Sterling only featured in the final 25 minutes of the second game after complaining of tiredness and being left out of the starting eleven in Estonia, but did make a vital contribution by winning the costless-kick that Rooney scored to win the game. The 19-year-old has increased minutes and expectations over the last 12 months for both club and country, but was bright after being brought on. Lallana meanwhile, came on for him in the first game and replaced him against Estonia - playing the full 90 minutes. After impressive form for Liverpool, he was utilised in the tip of the diamond and should have had his first England goal, which was wrongly chalked off by the offside flag. Otherwise, he put in a promising performance versus minnows San Marino and made use of the tight spaces in and around the opposition box. His second performance however, was a little bit flat. Unusually, Lallana struggled to create, but was hard-working and looked to cause trouble to defenders. He failed to record any of his four shots on target or create a single chance, but will still be in Hodgson's plans next time around. Henderson too enjoyed a hit-and-miss break. After scoring his first goal in over six months against West Brom, he started against San Marino but his passing was off and his passing accuracy was by far the worst. He was rightly taken off at half-time after a torrid first 45 minutes, but unfairly received much criticism. As typical of Henderson as possible, the midfielder upped his game against Estonia and looked much more his typical self. He wasn't at the same level he is in a red shirt, which will perhaps please Liverpool fans, but his passing was better, and won the ball back on numerous occasions. Earned a booking and was brought off just after the hour, but he can be pleased with his overall game.
Slovakia:
Martin Skrtel was tremendous as his Slovakian side beat Spain. It was their first defeat in qualifying since October 2006, and the Liverpool defender was at the heart of it, captaining for a famous 90 minutes against the reigning European champions. He helped keep things strong at the back against the likes of Andres Iniesta, Diego Costa, Cesc Fabregas and David Silva until his teammate Miroslav Stoch struck a late winner to steal a win. The 29-year-old kept Chelsea defender Costa very quiet indeed, despite the striker's stellar form in the Premier League recently. The Slovakians then travelled to Belarus where Skrtel again played the full 90, winning 3-1 and putting in a very composed performance at the back as they recorded a third successive qualifying victory. A very good break indeed for the tough centre-back.
Serbia:
Another victim of the break, giving Rodgers yet more problems was 20-year-old Lazar Marković. Injury concerns continue to grow, and the winger is suspected to have suffered a muscle tear during Serbia’s 1-1 draw with Armenia on Saturday. Marković was struggling to make an impact on the game, rendering largely ineffective, until he was forced off in the 25th minute mark. The Serbian has failed to make his mark at Anfield so far, but he is highly thought-of by his boss and will be quite a loss if his knock keeps him out for a number of weeks, as is expected. He will miss his country's match against Albania on Tuesday and is likely to be out of contention for Queens Park Rangers and Real Madrid in the coming days.
Brazil:
After missing out in the World Cup squad, Phil Coutinho retained a place in Brazil's squad as the South Americans took on Argentina in China and Japan in Singapore. 'The Little Magician' remained on the bench as his teammates overcame Argentina 2-0 in Beijing after Lionel Messi had a penalty saved, and Diego Tardelli netted twice to take the win. Against Japan, Coutinho replaced Chelsea's Oscar at half-time and earned 45 minutes of action as Neymar scored four in a 4-0 rout. The midfielder was on hand to assist the second within three minutes of entering the pitch, sending a lovely outside-of-the-foot pass between a number of defenders for the Barcelona forward to latch on to and slot past the keeper. It was a promising sign for Rodgers, with Coutinho having struggled to imprint his trademark style on games recently, but this characteristic assist may mean he is finally finding his feet.
Belgium:
Simon Mignolet will have been hoping to get some gametime, after Thibaut Courtois suffered a head injury whilst in action for Chelsea against Arsenal the weekend prior, but was instead forced to twice watched from the sidelines. Belgium thumped six past Andorra before a 1-1 against Bosnia & Herzegovina. Future teammate Divock Origi enjoyed a more positive break after impressing in Brazil over the summer. On-loan at Lille, Origi started over Romelu Lukaku up-front and scored the fourth goal of the game after beating a few Andorran defenders on the edge of the area and firing home from outside the box and he also added an assist to his name. The 19-year-old started for a second successive game against Bosnia, but couldn't add a second goal - though he provided plenty of promise, playing in various positions across the front three and earning this praise from Vincent Kompany: "He's very talented. Technically, he’s a monster. More importantly, he is an outstanding worker in training. If he continues in this way, in a few years he will be among the five or ten best strikers in the world."
Spain U21s:
Javier Manquillo and Alberto Moreno filled the full-back positions for a talented Spanish U21s side as they took on Serbia in a double-header play-off. They shared a 0-0 draw on Saturday night, when left-back Moreno could quite easily have given them a lead early on, and was actually dropped from the squad in the return leg in Cadiz. Manquillo started however, but was left disappointed as a talent-rich youth side fell to a 2-1 defeat. Spain U21s have their won their last two tournaments and were unbeaten since the 17th November 2009, a run stretching 34 games, but failed to qualify for the youth European Championships in Czech Republic after conceding a 92nd minute goal condemning them to defeat.